While most of us pine for retirement, the native New Yorker couldn't stand the view from the sidelines following his 2003 farewell Black Album. Despite a busy schedule as chief of Def Jam, his comeback album, Kingdom Come, debuted at the top of Billboard's pop and rap charts. Owns a small stake in the New Jersey Nets, plus two locations of his 40/40 clubhouse. In March, he sold his Rocawear apparel label to Iconix for $204 million. Did we mention Beyonce?

Earnings estimates are for June 2006 to June 2007. Figures rounded off where appropriate. Exact figures available on Forbes.com. Includes dollars earned solely from entertainment income. Management, agent and attorney fees have not been deducted. Estimates by Forbes; sources include Billboard, Pollstar, Adams Media Research, Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen BookScan. Rankings are generated by combining earnings with other metrics: Web mentions on Google press clips compiled by LexisNexis; TV/radio mentions by Factiva; and number of times a celebrity's face appeared on the cover of 32 major consumer magazines.

E-Score is a celebrity appeal ranking, comprised of 46 separate personality attributes. E-Score evaluations are provided by E-Poll Market Research, which has a database of more than 2,800 celebrities.